Tag Archives: history

I’ve always had a romantic fascination with Pompeii, duly brought on by Hollywood’s depiction of doomed and tragic lovers trying to escape the inevitable end. So of course a highlight of any trip to Italy would have to be a visit to the ruins… some of the best preserved in the world. We did a tour as part of a ...

In a country that has some amazing sites the Cotton Candy Travertine Terraces of Pamukkale. rated in my top 3. And considering on our several month journey covering 14 countries Turkey was my favourite country, that rates it pretty high indeed! While visiting ancient ruins had been a major highlight of our months exploring the Middle East, we discovered some ...

We reached Troy from the sea-side town of Canakkale, on the southern coast of the Dardanelles. It’s a colourful seaside town that we arrived at by ferry after leaving the battlefields of Gallipoli. Due to it’s high student population it has some atmospheric little bars and cafes down cobblestone lanes and along the waterfront promenade and can be a fun ...

During our backpacking stint around North Africa and the Middle East, we spent a fair amount of time in Turkey. There were so many great places but hanging around the old city, playing tourist in the morning and then playing local in the afternoons, in one of the many cafes with a glass of mint tea, a backgammon board ...

“The road is all but gone, destroyed by time, neglect, and the incursions of modernity; to travel the Appian Way today is to be a seeker, and to walk in the footsteps of ghosts.” Robert Kaster – The Appian Way Stand for minute, eyes closed, on the outskirts of Rome on the ancient paving stones that make up what was ...

Jerash – Jordan’s best kept secret. Overshadowed by the magnificent Petra, the reason most tourists come to Jordan. Yet ironically, Jerash is the second most visited site once tourists arrive in Jordan. An hour from Amman, the city can easily be toured as a day trip. Early morning is best – to avoid the heat. The ancient city is one ...

…who drinks the water I shall give him, says the Lord, will have a spring inside him welling up for eternal life. Let them bring me to your holy mountain in the place where you dwell. Across the desert and through the mountain to the Canyon of the Crescent Moon, to the Temple where the cup that holds the blood ...

Ancient Thebes, the “City of Amun”, surrounded by what is now modern day Luxor. Home of Karnak – arguably one of the most impressive monumental temple sites in Egypt. No small task in such a country. On a tour of Egypt’s more well known temples – Philae, Edfu, Kom Ombo – Karnak is best left for last. All are spectacular, ...

“I am Horus, the great Falcon upon the ramparts of the house of him of the hidden name. My flight has reached the horizon. I have passed by the gods of Nut. I have gone further than the gods of old. Even the most ancient bird could not equal my very first flight. I have removed my place beyond ...

“Whenever you were on the Nile, whatever you saw along the banks, the ever-present ridge of the desert loomed beyond the greenery, walling the floodplain on either side, a long chain of hills both east and west, often with pale chutes of sand spilling down them, blown in from the desert beyond.” – Rosemary Mahoney Down The Nile 2007 Alas ...

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain Cairo is a city that seems to try hard to make a good first ...

“I believe that Marrakech ought to be earned as a destination. The journey is the preparation for the experience. Reaching it too fast derides it, makes it a little less easy to understand.” ― Tahir Shah, In Arabian Nights Marrakech. Just the name solicits a rush, a place I have longed to see for as long as I can ...

“Time in the wild reminds me how much of what I ordinarily do is mere dithering, how much of what I own is mere encumbrance. The opposite of simplicity, as I understand it, is not complexity but clutter.” – Scott Sander Leaving Fes, we head out, swapping train for the inevitable tourist mini-bus that always makes a show on ...

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru My perception of Morocco is deserts, camels and bedouin, at least til I arrived. It's the height of spring, but I'm surprised by ...

” From far off, through circuitous corridors, came the scent of citrus-blossom and jasmine, with sometimes a bird’s song before dawn, sometimes a flute’s wail at sunset, and always the call of the muezzin…” ~ Edith Wharton In Morocco 41 hours of hellish flights and airport stopovers that were too long to be comfortable and too short to be ...